Sermons-First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco UUSF

“The Land of Memory” (October 24, 2021) Worship Service

The artist Etel Adnan, wrote that her memories were like a forest with unstable boundaries. Adnan was born in Lebanon, lived in France, then moved to California, living at the base of Mount Tamalpais, where she wrote and painted for many years. Her paintings were a way to explore memories and make meaning of them. Navigating the land of memory can be complex and challenging. But it can lead us into a deeper understanding of who we are, and how to live more fully into our lives as we make our way forward.

Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister; Richard Davis-Lowell, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist

Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour


Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20211024OSWeb

LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/6vE6Ny82thQ

YouTube Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGWIRF9PinfwXvlZA0xsBOjmUpZcVfgq9

“Right Thinking, Right Feeling and Right Relations” (October 17, 2021) Worship Service

Twins and co-authors of a recent book “Burnout”, Emily and Amelia Nagoski talk about patterns of thinking and dealing with stress that lead to burnout. However, they also go deeper, to patterns of thinking, feeling and being in relationships that undermine our own and one another’s health, joy and, I’d say, derail us on the journey to Beloved Community. In our work to hold ourselves accountable for the proposed 8th Principle of Unitarian Universalism, they offer some very tangible ways we can untangle from problematic habits of heart and mind! 

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Mari Ramos Magaloni, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; UUSF Choir; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Laurel Sprigg, soprano; Wm. García Ganz, Pianist; Jon Silk, Drummer

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Communications Director; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Athena Papadakos, Flowers


Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20211017OSWeb

LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/68IUkyanqCs

YouTube Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGWIRF9PinfzYlb3vg59g8PWa3XuviFxz

“Who is Earth to Me?” (October 10, 2021) Worship Service

Robin Wall Kimmerer in her book “Braiding Sweetgrass” opens with a simple description of this act of weaving, braiding the supple green stalks of a plant, but what unfolds is layers of relationship and story and a paradigm that has saving grace.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Daniel Jackoway, Worship Associate; Sam King, Worship Associate; Reiko Oda Lane, Organist; Mark Sumner, Music Director; Jon Silk, Drummer; Asher Davison, Soloist

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Director of Communications; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Judy Payne, flowers


Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20211010OS

LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/AEWSBrnxUz0

YouTube Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGWIRF9PinfzbiVChZoRoIITNJSkqvyZ6

“Higher Love: Installation Service” (October 3, 2021) Worship Service

“The Installation Service of Senior Minister Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern”

This is a sermon (Higher Love) about where this ministry together takes us and some of what we learn along the way. Our preacher, the Rev. Elizabeth Lerner Maclay, is the Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI. Rev. Maclay has been in Providence since 2017 in a congregation that first gathered in 1720! Rev. Maclay played a central role while serving in Maryland for the successful passage of that state’s Marriage Equality legislation, as well as their DREAM Act and their repeal of the death penalty. In Providence she has led the organizing of faith communities for gun control and worked during this pandemic with other faith leaders, particularly Black religious leaders, to found and co-lead Faith in Science, promoting equity of vaccine access and uptake for people of color in Rhode Island.

Shirley Gibson and Kathleen Quenneville, Members of the Search Committee that called Rev. Southern; Rohit and Leila Menezes, Rev. Southern’s husband and daughter, respectively; Dennis Adams, Worship Associate, UUSF; Rev. Elizabeth Lerner Maclay, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI; Rev. Mr. Barb Greve, Hospice Chaplain with Vitas Healthcare and former Co-Moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia, Board of Trustees Moderator of UUSF; Harry Arthur and Max Benbow, Representatives of the Family Ministry Program; Rev. Dr. John A. Buehrens, Former President of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister of UUSF; Jonah Berquist, Board of Trustees Vice Moderator of UUSF; Rev. Dr. Dorsey Blake, Presiding Minister, Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples; Charles Du Mond, Co-Moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association; Michael Pappas, M.Div., Executive Director, San Francisco Interfaith Council; Rev. Rosemary Bray-McNatt, President, The Starr King School for the Ministry; Rev. Margot Campbell Gross, Minister Emerita, UUSF; Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister, UUSF.

Eric Shackelford, Camera; Shulee Ong, Camera; Jonathan Silk, Director of Communications; Joe Chapot, Live Chat Moderator; Thomas Brown, Sexton; Dan Barnard, Facilities Manager; Judy Payne, flowers

Reiko Oda Lane, Organist & Bell Choir Director; Mark Sumner, Pianist & Music Director; Wm.; Garcia Ganz, Pianist; Andrés Vera, Cellist; Jon Silk, Drummer; UUSF Choir; UUSF Bell Choir


Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20211003IOSWeb

LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/N2cfnz1kRhY

YouTube Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGWIRF9PinfwMKSG8yhHB8vh_kOmMI9kY

“Enough is Enough: The Inflation of Satisfied and the Risks” (September 26, 2021) Worship Service

In the stories of people I know, their children’s stories, in what I see in the world, with dire consequences to the planet and to our mental health, I see the inflation of “enough” and I don’t just mean in material terms. I mean in all kinds of ways. Let me give examples and let’s look at what that might be doing to us and what can be done about it.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Wonder Dave, Worship Associate; Sam Hamner, Small Group Ministry; Allen Biggs, percussionist; Ben Rudiak-Gould, songleader; Mark Sumner, pianist

Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Amy Kelly, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour


Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20210926OSWeb1

LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/Mrp2JDB9IME

YouTube Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGWIRF9PinfzfFV9SCcxv7S3enEyCjn2S

“Ganesh Chaturthi and the Need to Remove Obstacles” (September 19, 2021) Worship Service

Each year in India there is a ten or eleven-day festival to celebrate Ganesh, the Elephant-headed god who is playful but who also is famous for a particular kind of power, one we all always seem in need of summoning into our lives. Join me for some stories, images, and reflections on the power of ritual.

Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister; Sam King, Worship Associate; Puran and K.G. Singh; Unitarian Church Jowai; UUSF Church Choir, conducted by Mark Sumner

Eric Shackelford, camera; Shulee Ong, camera; Jonathan Silk, OOS Design & sound; Joe Chapot, live chat moderator; Amy Kelly, flowers; Alex Darr, Les James, Tom Brookshire, Zoom Coffee Hour


Order of Service:
https://bit.ly/20210919OSWeb1

LIVESTREAM:
https://youtu.be/TivOJ5S1xE0

YouTube Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGWIRF9Pinfweuf434le1uSpPouhsVeRH